The Gatti Girls: Happy Birthday Rebecca!

We had a pandemic tea party today!

Today is Rebecca's 13th Birthday. Not a day goes by that we do not miss her. I am glad our friend started this blog for us 13 years ago to help us communicate with family and friends about her health after her injury. Looking back we are glad we kept these notes. Every year when I review it, I am reminded of God's sovereignty and His carrying us through some dark times. Every time I read it through, over a decade of posts, it does not seem real--but the posts remind us that it is. It is only by the love of Christ that we make it through this loss. This year we would have had a college student, a high schooler, a middle schooler and one in elementary. The void is heavy and the loss is real, but the promise of the Gospel is eternal life and the promise of the Gospel is the ointment for the grief. It is sufficient.

We are thankful for the prayers and support. Rebecca was joined in heaven by her grandfather Al Lockhart last month. We miss them both dearly.

Rebecca's grave stone was installed a while back. The girls used their art skills to honor their sister by designing her headstone and footstone. This took a lot of courage.

Katherine drew the front with her perfect handwriting and quoted Romans 5:3-5.

Elizabeth drew the back and included a sea of flowers, butterflies and a hidden lamb.

Charlotte drew the footstone and reminded us of what we loved to do with Rebecca the most.

Every time I visit her grave I am reminded of the great impact she has on our lives. We've had the courage to do a lot of things because of her and weather many storms with our eyes focused on Christ.

Today Charlotte decided to host a tea party. We have been cooped up way to long. We had to speak in British accents and enjoy tea and family! We had a great time. We showered, dressed up and sipped tea. It turned out to be a "jolly good time!

Katherine is at TCU in the honors college finishing up her second year. She enjoys the fellows program and living in the sorority house. She has spent a good bit of time traveling on missions and for fun. She's been to Argentina, Europe and several other places "learning." She enjoys Ft. Worth and has made some great friends. We have enjoyed having her home during the pandemic- we never thought we'd be together as family again for this extended period of time. Having Katherine home has been a blessing.

Elizabeth is finishing up her junior year of high school. She really enjoys volleyball, newspaper, student council, and a ton of other activities. Beth is ready for the world and has a great attitude and work ethic. She's started looking at colleges and visited Vanderbilt- she really liked Nashville. Beth has a kind heart and quick wit. College visits are on hold for now...

Charlotte is currently raising 9 chickens, 8 cats (3 big, 5 kittens and maybe a few more kittens on the way) and two dogs. She enjoys gymnastics, reading and FaceTiming her friends during the pandemic. She's finishing up 4th grade! Charlotte always has a funny story to tell. She loves animals and reading her Bible.

Some bad storms came through last night. Some of the worst wind and hail we have seen in this area in a long time. We spent an hour in the hallway taking care of new kittens and listening to the hail pound on the metal roof. Reminded me of 13 years ago about that same time when a pleasant night turned into a major storm in our lives. We spent the night 13 years ago in a hospital awaiting Rebecca and everything that could go wrong went wrong. God carries us through storms and last night was a reminder of that.

Today Beth, Charlotte and I spent the day honoring Rebecca by cutting up trees in yards after the storm. It was great to get out and get some chainsaw therapy.